House of Blues Entertainment Inc. said it will open its planned live-music venue in Philadelphia late next summer.

The venue will cover five floors and include a 500-seat music hall, 300-seat restaurant, retail store and a private club called the Foundation Room.

“There were a number of things going for [Philadelphia],” said Liam Thornton, senior vice president of development for House of Blues Entertainment. “It was part of our strategic expansion on the East Coast. The city has great demographics and it’s a great city for live music. We just needed the right venue.”

The venue will be part of The Grande, a $157 million condominium conversion in the former Packard Building at 15th and Chestnut.

All of which is interesting, when you consider how much promoters are complaining about what a beating they’re taking on live music these days. (See this BCO thread for more on that.) But at the end of the day, when the state gives you $5 million to open up a rock club, you pretty much have to take the money and run.
PBJ: The Unstoppable Paunch Of Ackroyd To Finally Consume Philadelphia

This entry was posted on Monday, October 30th, 2006 at 11:36 am.